I just keep finding more episodes related to California Mission history! In this one-hour segment Huell experiences a true adventure as he takes a drive along Highway 101 and some of the other, smaller roads that made up portions of the historic California trail between the missions. His visit to the foundry where they create bright, shiny new bells for […]
I concluded the California Mission series a couple of weeks ago, but I couldn’t leave the topic of the missions without taking a look at the swallows that arrive at Mission San Juan Capistrano every spring in mid March. These beautiful little birds clearly bring a lot of joy to the people in the area as they gather to celebrate […]
On Wednesday I featured the final episode of Huell Howser’s California Mission series; early in the show he visits a fourth-grade classroom to meet the kids and have a look at their mission models and artwork. Back in 1980, my mom was working with a fourth-grade Montessori class when they did their California Mission unit, and she was able to […]
As I began watching this final episode of Huell’s California Mission series I expected something completely different. When I first saw the title “Art of the Missions,” I had imagined a tour of some surviving pieces of religious art — paintings of the Virgin, stained glass windows, tile mosaics. But even though I had it completely wrong, this turned out […]
My last group of slides exploring La Purísima Concepción, shot by my mom in the spring of 1982, focuses on the garden areas. After going through all these slides, I would definitely like to visit this beautiful state historic park near Lompoc, California. I’m sure there has been a lot of changes and improvements to the mission over the past […]
Some of the sights Huell finds as he explores the gardens of Mission La Purísima Concepción may seem a bit familiar if you’ve been following my recent Friday series, in which I’ve shared slides my mom shot there back in the early 1980s. And later this week my images will include some from the garden area. I’m really glad that […]
I’ve nearly come to the end of my mom’s slides showing Mission La Purísima Concepción in 1982, with only one more week to go. This week, along with some interior shots from the mission’s museum, there’s a 1979 image of the amazing Moreton Bay fig tree in Santa Barbara. Listed on the California Register of Big Trees, the Moreton Bay […]
The “forgotten” 22nd Mission, San Antonio de Pala, was built in 1816 and serves the people of the Pala Village. Huell learns quite a lot about the history of the mission and the reservation, including a visit to a portion of the mission that is home to the Vivian Banks Charter School; the school is unique in being a public […]
Huell visits these Missions in this episode: San Luis Obispo de Tolosa San Miguel Arcangel San Antonio de Padua (Click on the linked image below to see the video.)